MHP hires Gillian Tong to new MD role heading internal comms

MHP Communications has appointed Gillian Tong, most recently an engagement specialist at The Co-operative Bank where she helped develop its comms function, to a new managing director role heading internal comms.

The role has been created so MHP can offer a new internal comms and employee engagement function. Tong will work with MHP’s discipline heads and advise clients on specific internal comms programmes.

She has more than 25 years’ experience across the private, public and third sectors, both in-house and agency-side. Her previous roles include senior global positions at Deutsche Bank, as well as at Brunswick Group and Hesleden Partners.

Gavin Devine, CEO of MHP Communications, said: "The best way to deliver great outcomes for clients is through fully integrated communications campaigns. That, of course, has to include internal stakeholders. An organisation’s employees are its best advocates; they can also be its biggest critics. Making sure they understand and are brought into the strategy of the organisation is a crucial prerequisite for navigating through a period of change.

"That’s why we have brought Gillian on board; she is of a strong calibre and rounds out our truly integrated advisory offer."

Tong said: "While internal communications has always been a vital part of the communications mix, recent years have seen it move rapidly up executive and board agendas, and it is now a critical element of any successful and effective communications campaign.

"The role of employees on the front line with customers and stakeholders, the constant pace of organisational transformation, and the blurring of home and workplace boundaries means that employee engagement has become as important as media, political and broader external stakeholder outreach."